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“It really helps an economy to have a strong and independent central bank. What I mean by that is a central bank that can make monetary policy decisions without being influenced by short-term political pressures,” Bernanke said when asked how the Fed maintains the delicate balance between avoiding partisan leanings and offering objective financial leadership.

Bernanke’s comments come just days after the government released a mediocre jobs report. The economy added 163,000 jobs in July — a higher figure than what economists had projected — but in unfortunate news for President Barack Obama, the unemployment rate ticked up to 8.3 percent.

With just a few weeks left in the 2012 legislative calendar and with little chance Congress will take significant action to boost the country’s slow economic recovery, policymakers and economists have turned their attention to the Fed. Some Democrats have urged the Fed to take action while those on the other side of the political aisle have cautioned against it.

The central bank recently declined to enact new measures to stimulate the economy, and the Federal Open Market Committee — the Fed’s policymaking body — is set to next meet in September.

Bernanke said Tuesday that when the group meets to make policy decisions, “there’s never any discussion around this table about political issues.”

“That’s the balance that we try to achieve: independence in order to make good decisions but accountability and transparency to make that independence consistent with our democratic framework,” he said.

Still, just months away from the November elections, the Fed is expected to continue drawing scrutiny from all directions about whether or how its decisions are being influenced by the political calendar.

Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher, for example, said in an interview with Reuters this week, “I’m afraid that as we get closer to election season that people in the marketplace or elsewhere might draw that conclusion, and it might come back to haunt us.”

Readers' Comments (23)

. IT'S OVER. 14 percent unemployment. 16 trillion in debt. a rigged stock market. IT'S OVER. The socialist black bigot liar in the white house has to go. he and holder should be in cuffs. Prediction: in ten years Obama will be in hiding in Zimbabwe.

You sir have no idea what the FED is and how it works. Why don't you try going and educating yourself first before you and your small minded conservative buddy's try to talk politics. All i can see right now is that you are a racist ignorant **** who knows nothing about the FEDERAL RESERVE. I bet you want to join that branch of the ARMY dont cha? Wish all you white miserable small town Americans would just eat yourselves to heart attacks. Obviously you forgot about BUSH and the mess he and his rich friends got us into. ****ing uneducated trash.

Here's one of a handful of things that I will agree with the Right on: The Federal Reserve needs to be audited.

10-4 on that.

I don't think most people realize the role The Federal Reserve has played in this economic recession. Their cheap credit and excessive money printing has weakened the U.S. dollar. Look at the housing bubble, and the price of crude oil and gold over the last decade or so. All of these are hedges against inflation and weak currency.

People thought Alan Greenspan was such a genius when in reality he did as much as Clinton and Bush to bring this mess on.

“It really helps an economy to have a strong and independent central bank. What I mean by that is a central bank that can make monetary policy decisions without being influenced by short-term political pressures,” Bernanke said when asked how the Fed maintains the delicate balance between avoiding partisan leanings and offering objective financial leadership.

Strong? There is probably no stronger power in the world than these guys. It's pretty sick. And somehow these guys are not the 1% Corporations are? Go figure.

Wish all you white miserable small town Americans would just eat yourselves to heart attacks. Obviously you forgot about BUSH and the mess he and his rich friends got us into. ****ing uneducated trash.

Who the heck are you talking to? Tell me, what has BO done different than Bush on the economy? Answer: Nothing different.

Eustace Mullens in his book Secrets of the Federal Reserve starts with a quote from Thomas Jefferson about the inadvisability of having a central bank. And he tells the history of how Andrew Jackson broke up the first central bank. And how Paul Warburg from Germany and JP Morgan and crew accomplished what private bankers had been trying to do from 1776 until 1912.

There is no conflict of interest for bankers making money while they serve on the Federal Reserve --- since the point of the Reserve is to make money for the bankers. The duties added to the mission of the Fed -decades after it was formed- to look after the "economy" -- have no real teeth. Sunset the Federal Reserve Act and start over from scratch.

Audit the Fed. Who's making money these days? Bernanke's investment banker buddies. Bonus after bonus on the backs of the 98%. As the next bubble bursts think about how the fed led us there and why - just like the last one. Insulate the banks from any responsibility for their actions and they will make political contributions. The fed is not independent - they are a political arm of the rich.